The latest survey showed that 85.3 percent of respondents agree on the inclusion of a sports exam in the senior high school entrance exam to push for more exercise in schools, according to the China Youth Daily.
Of the 2,002 respondents in the online survey, 76.1 percent are parents of primary and middle school students. Around 65.5 percent of those surveyed believe such an exam will help students develop in an all-round way.
In improving the quality of physical education, 60.2 percent of respondents urged efforts to prevent arbitrary cancellation of physical education classes and measures to punish educators' violations.
Fifty-five percent of respondents hope to see more investment in physical education and improvement of facilities, while 49.3 percent called for the establishment of a special supervision mechanism for physical education in schools.
Lu Genshu, head of the Institute of Higher Education of Xi'an Jiaotong University, told the newspaper that the inclusion of a sports exam is not a once-and-for-all measure to address the issue of lack of exercise.
"It is equally important to help students form a habit of exercise," Lu said.
